The Kansas City Royals reinstated infielder Michael Massey (back) from the 10-day injured list on Friday and optioned infielder Nick Loftin to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. Massey is immediately back in the Royals' starting lineup on Friday, starting at second base and batting seventh against Baltimore Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer. Massey is back in Kansas City after a back strain caused him to miss the start of the 2024 regular season. The 26-year-old looked good on his minor-league rehab assignment and figures to split playing time at the keystone with veteran left-handed hitter Adam Frazier. In 129 games with the Royals in 2023, Massey slashed an underwhelming .229/.274/.381 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI and six stolen bases in 461 plate appearances. He's worth a pickup in AL-only leagues, at least, for middle infield depth.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (back), who was placed on the injured list back on Opening Day due to lower back tightness, is closing in on returning to the major-league lineup and making his 2024 debut. Entering Wednesday's action, Massey is batting .407 (11-for-27) with six extra-base hits and eight RBI over six games on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha. He could rejoin the Royals as early as Friday for the start of a three-game weekend set versus the visiting Baltimore Orioles. The 26-year-old lefty-hitting infielder should serve as the club's everyday second baseman upon his imminent activation, with neither Adam Frazier nor Nick Loftin doing much to stand out at the keystone in the early stages of the season. With KC's lineup hitting well to begin the campaign, Massey is a name to watch for fantasy managers in AL-only or deep mixed leagues.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (back) returned to his rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with three RBI while playing seven innings in the field. After playing one rehab game at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and experiencing minor soreness, Massey felt good enough to play on Tuesday. Closing in on a return for KC, Massey likely still needs a few more rehab games before doing so. The 26-year-old lefty-hitting infielder has been on the injured list since Opening Day with lower back tightness, and the Royals hope it won't linger and Massey can return as their everyday second baseman after he slashed .229/.274/.381 with 15 home runs, 18 doubles, 55 RBI, and six stolen bases over 428 at-bats last season. Adam Frazier is filling in as the primary option at the keystone for now, but he's not doing enough to warrant consideration outside of the deepest fantasy leagues.

Kansas City Royals infielder Michael Massey (back) will start a minor-league rehab assignment with Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Friday. Massey suffered a lower-back strain in spring training in the middle of March and was forced to open the 2024 regular season on the injured list for the Royals. The 26-year-old infielder is nearing a return, though, and could make his season debut in KC at some point next week as long as he doesn't suffer a setback during his rehab assignment. The former fourth-rounder in 2019 out of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an infield bench option, at best, in deep-mixed and AL-only leagues when he's healthy. Massey hit just .229/.274/.381 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI and six stolen bases in 129 games in his first full season in the majors in 2023.

Kansas City Royals infielder Michael Massey (back) is progressing well and is playing in simulated games in Arizona and is on track to go on a minor-league rehab assignment this week, according to manager Matt Quatraro. Massey started the 2024 season on the 10-day injured list due to lower-back tightness that he experienced at the end of spring training, but Massey should be able to make his debut for the Royals sooner than later as long as everything goes well on his rehab assignment. In his first full MLB season for the Royals in 2023, Massey slashed .229/.274/.381 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI, six stolen bases and 42 runs scored in 461 plate appearances. He'll be an option for fantasy managers in AL-only leagues when he returns to KC.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (back) is expected to start the season on the injured list due to lower back tightness. Massey has been sidelined since Tuesday due to back tightness. He will likely miss the start of the season and could return sometime in mid-April. The 26-year-old slashed .229/.274/.381 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI, 42 runs scored, and six stolen bases over 129 games in 2023. Adam Frazier and utilityman Nick Loftin should see extra playing time at second base with Massey sidelined. Despite receiving an uptick in at-bats, Frazier is mainly an option in deep-league formats heading into 2024 drafts.

Kansas City Royals infielder Michael Massey (back) has been sidelined since being scratched from the lineup ahead of Tuesday's game. The 25-year-old is reportedly dealing with lower-back tightness but is considered day-to-day. It sounds like Massey will continue to undergo treatment and will hopefully be ready to play in a few days. This spring, Massey is hitting .233/.233/.766 with two home runs and five RBI in 30 at-bats. It's tough to imagine Massey having much fantasy value heading into the season.

The Kansas City Royals activated second baseman Michael Massey (hand) from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday and also recalled right-hander Jonathan Heasley from Triple-A Omaha. In corresponding moves, the team optioned left-hander Austin Cox and infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor to Omaha. Massey returned to the starting lineup immediately on Tuesday, as he started at second base and hit seventh in the lineup against the Minnesota Twins. The 25-year-old second-year big-league player didn't hit all that well in June to drop his season slash line to just .217/.279/.315 with four home runs, 20 RBI, three stolen bases and 15 runs scored in 60 games. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues will be hoping Massey can get things going again after missing two-plus weeks with a left-hand laceration.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (finger) is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Friday. Massey was hopeful to avoid doing a rehab assignment, but it appears he'll do one after all. The 25-year-old has been sidelined since mid-June due to a finger laceration. The hope is that Massey is ready by the beginning of next week. Until then, Nicky Lopez is expected to continue getting extended playing time at second base.

Kansas City Royals infielder Michael Massey (finger) was placed on the 10-day injured list last week. He has been dealing with a left hand laceration, but might be able to return sooner than expected. The 25-year-old is scheduled to take batting practice prior to Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. If all goes well, Massey might be allowed to skip a minor league rehab assignment. That would allow him to return to the Royals roster at some point this week. Fantasy managers will have to stay tuned for another update on his status. In the meantime, Nicky Lopez will cover second base and bat eighth versus right-hander Gavin Williams on Tuesday.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (hand) has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left-hand laceration. Massey suffered the injury during Friday's contest and was absent from the lineup on Saturday as well. The Royals decided to place him on the injured list to give him the proper amount of time for the cut to heal. In a pair of corresponding moves, the Royals selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Matt Beaty from Triple-A Omaha and placed first baseman Vinny Pasquantino (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (finger) remains out of the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. He suffered a laceration to his left index finger prior to Friday's game. As a precaution, the Royals will hold Massey out of Saturday's game as well. The assumption is that this is a day-to-day injury, so Massey shouldn't require a trip to the injured list. In the meantime, Nicky Lopez will cover second base and bat seventh versus right-hander Griffin Canning on Saturday.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (finger) has been scratched from Friday's starting lineup versus the Los Angeles Angels. The 25-year-old suffered a finger laceration, so the team will hold him out from this contest. This sounds like a minor issue, so fantasy managers should consider Massey as day-to-day. In the meantime, Matt Duffy will cover second base and bat sixth versus lefty Patrick Sandoval on Friday.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey is out of the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the San Diego Padres. It doesn't appear that Massey is dealing with an injury, so this is likely a rest day. The 25-year-old is off to a slow start, hitting .221/.272/.301 with two home runs and 11 RBI this season. Matt Duffy will cover second base and bat seventh versus right-hander Seth Lugo on Tuesday. Fantasy managers should expect Massey to be back in the lineup for their next game.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey is back in Tuesday's starting lineup after sitting out Monday's contest versus the Texas Rangers. In short, it's been an absolute disaster for Massey to begin the 2023 campaign. The 25-year-old is just 4-for-43 with a double across 45 trips to the plate. He's also yet to draw a walk in that time while he's struck out in 40% of his plate appearances to this point. Massey more or less held his own in his MLB debut last season with a 93 wRC+ in 52 games but his -50 wRC+ this time around is disastrous. He's flirting with a minor-league demotion at this point but will get a chance to get things turned around tonight against Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey is not in the starting lineup on Saturday for the team's second game of the season against the Minnesota Twins. Instead, Nicky Lopez will man the keystone and hit ninth against Twins right-hander Sonny Gray. Massey started at second and hit sixth in the Opening Day lineup on Thursday, but he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and now finds himself on the bench. The 25-year-old made his major-league debut last year and slashed .243/.307/.376 with four home runs, 17 RBI and three stolen bases in 52 games for the Royals. Massey has some pop in his bat, but his fantasy ceiling is limited in KC in just his first full MLB season, especially if he won't be playing every day.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (ankle) is back in the team's Cactus League lineup on Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians and right-hander Xzavion Curry. Massey is starting at second base and is hitting seventh in KC's batting order. The 24-year-old hasn't played since being hit in the ankle by a pitch on Wednesday. In 52 games in his rookie season for the Royals, Massey hit .243/.307/.376 with a .683 OPS, four home runs, 17 RBI, 16 runs scored and three stolen bases in 194 plate appearances. He's expected to open the year as the team's primary second baseman, and he also has a little pop, which will make him attractive in AL-only leagues as a middle infield option.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (ankle) is being listed as day-to-day after leaving Wednesday night's Cactus League game against the Chicago White Sox with an ankle contusion. Massey fouled a ball off his foot and was removed from the game as a precaution. The 24-year-old should be just fine for Opening Day later this month. In his first 52 major-league games last year, Massey slashed .243/.307/.376 with a .683 OPS, four home runs, 17 RBI, 16 runs scored and three stolen bases in 194 plate appearances. With Whit Merrifield now in Toronto, Massey has a clear path to regular playing time at the keystone, and he could offer some decent pop for those in AL-only leagues in 2023.

Kansas City Royals rookie second baseman Michael Massey went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double and a walk in the 7-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Massey has been playing mostly everyday, giving him fantasy appeal in deeper leagues to close out the season. The 24-year-old has slashed .281/.350/.404 with a home run, nine RBI, six runs scored and two stolen bases in his first 89 major league at-bats for the Royals. He made his major league debut on July 15, but he hit .244 (.19-for-78) with a homer, nine RBI and six runs scored in the month of August. The rebuilding Royals should continue to give him plenty of playing time to close out the 2022 regular season.

The Kansas City Royals selected infielder Michael Massey's contract on Wednesday from Triple-A Omaha. Massey, 24, previously made his Major League debut this season, collecting three hits in eight plate appearances for the Royals. In 143 plate appearances with Kansas City's Triple-A affiliate, he hit .325 with a .392 on-base percentage, seven home runs and four stolen bases. With Whit Merrifield now a member of the Blue Jays, there's the potential for Massey to see consistent playing time if he can produce. The club also recalled catcher Sebastian Rivero from Double-A Northwest Arkansas and transferred left-handed pitcher Angel Zerpa to the 60-day injured list.